A piece I think some will be interested in: "Negotiations are proceeding with DirecTV, DISH Network and iNDEMAND to carry the MLS Shootout package this season. DISH has not carried several telecasts offered to it in recent years, including the U.S.-Canada match carried by Setanta Sport, and iNDEMAND cut back on its MLS coverage late last season when other programming commitments (ESPN GamePlan for college football) limited its channel capacity. The league is also working to air the few games not covered by its national or regional systems on a supplementary channel as well as in the Shootout package. From 10 to 15 games fall through the cracks each season because a game is not carried nationally on ABC or ESPN2 and, for whatever reason, it isn't carried in the local market. One possible alternative is FOX Sports World, which had been prevented from carrying the games in the past by an exclusivity clause in the league's contract with its national broadcast partner. That clause was removed when the entities signed a new deal that included the 2002 and 2006 World Cup rights as well as the MLS rights in January 2002." --From Soccer America's MLS Confidential. Let's get everything on!
Since there is no more exclutivity clause in the contract it means that it can put them on Fox Sports World or any other television station. Maybe we could at times have a two game Soccer Saturday. One on the east coast at 1 PM and another on the West at 3:00.
One of the things about Shootout is that often there's more than one game on at the same time. Maybe FOX could rebroadcast some games after they've been played so we could watch them later in their entirety. We wouldn't have to switch between channels during games to check out what's going on in another game or be forced to choose one game to watch over another because we would know we can catch it later.
Remember - Fox had a chance to do this last year. And they had a chance to get the contract last year. Games may ened up there, but don't assume they are super interested in MLS. They never have been before.
FOX did show U.S. Open matches last season. And after the end of the final match they stayed there and showed the celebration by the Columbus Crew and the awarding of the trophy. More than I can say for ABC's coverage of MLS Cup. I agree totally with the quote you have listed. Soccer isn't just an outing for a warm, sunny day. Some of these family-types I see at games seem to think they're at a picnic, with the game being an afterthought.
I also agree with the quote in his sig... american soccer fans should be less "fair-weather" about the teams. No offense to you personally, riverplate, but hearing the "hard-core supporters" around these parts make jokes about the "family-types" or "soccer mom" crowds always turns on [soapbox mode]. It completely overlooks the fact that MLS is a business (and not exactly a huge profit center for its investors). If you manage front-office operations for an MLS team, which type are you gonna want to cater to -- the family crowd that brings in 4-6 heads at a time, sells plenty of concessions, and usually goes home with some souvenirs? Or the "supporter" who drinks his own beer in the parking lot and then complains if he's not getting a steep discount for his 1-2 tickets in the supporters section? The fact is that every ass in a seat is important if the profile of soccer in the US is to be raised. Walk around a stadium and make a note of the demographics you see in the seats... if you take away the "family picnic" crowd, there'd be no MLS. I say have all the goofy half-time shows, dancing mascots, and t-shirt giveaways you want... if it brings in people, it brings in money, and THAT raises the quality of the product on the field. [soapbox off/] Sorry... we now resume your regularly scheduled thread.
what i never understood is why FSW shows A-League and Open Cup games but is completely uninterested in MLS? Do the games just cost too much?
For a past week GOL TV (Dish Net ch 632) have been showing MLS and USMNT clips and highlights saying COMING SOON.
I really don't have the time right now to address this item (and it would move this thread off the subject of MLS & TV, which I started in the first place). Let me simply say soccer will never be big time in America if we don't get or develop the hardcore year-in/year-out fan that you see on telecasts from practically every other country in the world. I can fully understand how a foreign fan attending one of our games would be astonished by the lack of real passion and never want to go to an MLS game again. That's a buck out the door, too. Those fans shouldn't be taken for granted because they're the ones that will truly come back year after year. I don't think the league's marketing attutude is as balanced as much as it should be in that regard. Let's not play to the lowest common denominator all the time.
shouldn't mls sorry a little bit more about people who live in this country. while myself and everyone else encourage more hardcore support thats not where the bulk of the money comes from, id say no more than 15% (with nothing to back that up). they have to spend bucks where the majority of the fans are coming from.
So instead of helping create that atmosphere, they walk out the door because no one created it for them? So MLS should cater to people who have no interest in creating atmosphere themselves and would rather watch games on TV than see them in person. Yeah, that's the kind of fan base I want in my league.
Re: Re: MLS on TV you said foreign fan. but anyways. the marketing money should be spent proportionally. i dont think the family crowd goes for the atmospshere, not many american pro sports provide that. of course i want real soccer fanaticism, its has even caused complaints at mls games. its not just our league, we cant support it by ourelves.
About Gol TV: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32627 http://www.soccerloop.com/interview.php#012603
Here's an area where we agree... bringing in more fans who are passionate about soccer the way that most americans are about the NFL and or the NBA... and people elsewhere in the world are about soccer. And here's where we disagree... how is catering to the audience that represents the bulk of their revenue playing to the lowest common denominator? Spend more money to get the foreign fan excited about MLS? Talk about throwing money away... The fact is that if you don't already have a fan in the 25-and-up age bracket, getting them now is a pretty tough sell. Instead, you position the product as something that's affordable and friendly to families so that people bring their kids. Again... more tickets, more souvenirs, and more concessions. Not only does that account for the vast majority of their revenue today, it means you've got younger people hooked... people who will have their own disposable income to spend in 5, 10, 15 years. Sad though it may be, it's a business decision and has little to do with "passion".
Here we have the same old crap: Don't care about "them", let's care about "us." The "there goes the neighborhood" mentality. Unbelieveable. I'd want to stay home and watch games on TV if that's the "you're not wanted here" bull**** I'd encounter.
river, I think you're missing the point: that hardcore soccer supporters (whether it's "us" or "them") are a very small segment of the population that goes to MLS games. You can look at it as a "there goes the neighborhood" thing, but that's just not it. But I think you can have passionate fans that make noise and give you the kind of experience you want. Chicago did a great job with this when it was in Soldier Field. After one great game in particular where Stoichkov crossed a winner to Wynalda against Dallas in extra time, the reaction from the crowd going into the street (singing, yelling) was as active and passionate as anything I've seen here in London or in Madrid. Now, I'm not claiming that that's every game, just that you don't need to set up hard-core fans against soccer moms.
This post is so wrong on so many levels. I mean, maybe you could misunderstand monster a little more completely, but you'd have to work at it. Look, riverplate, let me see if I understand your position: You want atmosphere prepackaged and plopped at your feet without any work on your part, right? Too bad. We don't have the soccer history that countries like Argentina and England and Italy have. Life sucks like that sometimes. Grab a straw. If you want atmosphere, get off your lazy butt and join with some other people to create it. There's nothing in the Laws of the Game that say that MLS crowds can't have both supporters groups and soccer moms with their families. Most stadiums are big enough that each of these groups can have plenty of room to exist. And, unless I've been missing something, soccer fans do not emerge fully formed from some giant test tube in some underground lair, then given team assignments. No, I would guess that most soccer fans were once themselves kids, and there's no reason that the kid who's on a "family outing" at today's MetroStars game can't grow up to be a member of tomorrow's ESC. And if earlier you were referring to monster's quote in his signature about Third Division fans, you completely misunderstood that to start with. It's not about tweaking those on a "family outing." It's about getting off your butt and supporting the team in your neighborhood, instead of mooning over River Plate or Man U or some team that's far away but has a lot of nice shiny trophies. It's kind of like the difference between getting down with the perfectly cute woman down the street and staying at home gazing at your Britney Spears poster. However ... Your ideas intrigue me, and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. Meaning that I think you're spot on with this, and I'd like to see it happen, too.
I thought I'd read somewhere around here last year that there was some interest with FSW, but that other contracts (for the shootout?) prevented it. I gotta think that FSW would get better numbers with MLS games than they're getting from the MISL games they just started showing on Friday evenings... and it's certainly in MLS' best interest to get as many airings as possible, so I'd hope that pricing themselves too high isn't the problem.
From the NY Times... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/sports/soccer/18SOCC.html?ex=1046585134&ei=1&en=72e0cedb86f0478b The first part of the article is about Grimandi's signing with the Rapids, but this paragraph was buried on the second page... pretty relevant to this thread: J
I don't know how much can be said from this. The USOC final was not an MLS game, whereas MLS Cup was. FSW had a contract with US Soccer ABC has a contract with MLS
You so didn't get what I was saying. You're saying people leave because there isn't "atmosphere," whatever the hell that is. If they were real fans, they would help create atmosphere instead of turning their nose up at something. Arrogance like that is something any league can do without. It has nothing to with where people come from. It has to do with people thinking they are above MLS. But when they turn their backs on it for reasons like that, they only show how petty and small they are. I want everyone to be there. But only if they want to have fun.